Hangman

One game that the kids like to play while we are waiting now is Hangman.  It's great to pass the time, especially in a restaurant, except when Vivian wants to set up the board.

Sam is usually fine and can create a board and guess the letters.  Vivian is great at guessing letters and occasionally guesses a word or phrase.  Lanie just likes to think she is participating and usually guessing numbers instead of letters.
However, when Vivian has to set up a phrase (which she insists on doing, with zero help), it usually doesn't work because she hasn't drawn enough lines or has misspelled the word, and she will inevitably end up frustrated and under the table or ripping up her paper.  Or both.

The game usually goes something like,
Sam: "guess a letter Viv."
Viv: "H"
Sam: "no, start with a vowel."
Vivian: "ok, A."
Sam: "good, good. There are two As.  Lanie, your turn, guess a letter."
Lanie: "Ok. 6!"
Vivian: "No Lanie, that's a number!"
Lanie: "Yes."
Sam: "Ok, it's fine, A=1, B=2, C=3, so Lanie guessed F. Good job Lanie! There's an F!"
Lanie: "Yes, 12."
And so on. Until Vivian, overwhelmed with hunger or frustration will ball up her paper, yell and disappear under the table unless there is a quick intervention.

Miniature Golf

Before we left the Cape, we went miniature golfing.  This is a tricky activity for Vivian if she is hungry or tired, or just in the wrong mood. I was hoping for the best, but she hadn't been feeling very well, so anticipated it might not go well. Her body also moves very quickly during physical activities and she doesn't quite aim.  Meanwhile Sam is athletic, but also competitive, so he is determined to do well. Lanie it turns out, is quite good at hockey and when she hit the ball, was quite good at golf too.

 It was fun for a while, but the further Vivian got into the course, the more restless and frustrated she got, went eventually led to her throwing her club, losing her ball in the water, and hitting her ball into the path of another golfing group on their green.  

After the course with their pirate gear.

After the course, feeling a little grumpy.

Subbuteo

As Sam loves playing soccer, I thought it would be fun to pull out a game that my parents have their house.  My brother played it as a child and my mom played it with her own brother as a child.

I retrieved it from the attic, literally dusted it off, repaired some broken plastic pieces with Gorilla glue, while my mom ironed the felt pitch so that it was smooth.  By the time it was ready to play, both the girls were waking up from naps. We read the rules and Sam started to play anyway and when Tessa arrived, she spent a long, patient time playing with him.

He wanted to take the game home, but we told him it had to stay there.  On the way home he told me he was going to make one at home.
"Sure, that's a great idea," I agreed. 

The next day I came back from running errands and it was very quiet.  "Where's Sam?" I asked Chris.
"Upstairs making a Subbuteo game," he answered.
When I went to check, sure enough, he had made a Subbuteo pitch, on his curtain. The tension curtain rod had been knocked down the day before during a playdate, so it was convenient and about the right size.  I could understand the appeal.
Then I realized he had made the players by Gorilla gluing his American football figurines to wooden checkers.  So now the one checker set in the house that was complete, now has football players glued to it. The soccer ball? "Borrowed" from Vivian's soccer Barbie.

 I decided to start a bin in the basement of materials that we can use for projects.  It won't include things like household decor.

I did ask what he was going to use for a curtain on that window now, and he said, "the Subbuteo board, it's okay, I'll have a soccer curtain."

"So, everytime you want to play you'll take it down?" I asked.

"Oh. I didn't think of that," he answered. "Hmm..."

Board Games

We're finally at the point where the kids are playing board games, with each other as well as us, which is so nice.  It especially helps in the winter when there's a lot more indoor time.  Of course Vivian will still occasionally pitch a fit if she loses, but she's getting better and throws the game pieces less these days (unless she's particularly hungry).  It's also nice when they have their friends over.  Sam will even make a game on periodically.  Lanie is still to young to understand, but because she spends a lot of time mimicking their behavior she still might sit and play a game for a while by herself.

a game Sam was trying to make.

Sam and Tessa on Christmas.

Hide n' Seek Update

We don't seem to be getting more skilled at this game...